The ACC consists of two dioceses: The Dioceses of the East and the of the West. The Diocese of the East includes not only the Eastern half of the United States, but also has jurisdiction over the clergy and the faithful in Europe and in Africa.

This Church considers Lutherans to be Catholics in a temporary, involuntary schism imposed on them by the Roman Catholic Church when Father Martin Luther's attempt to start a renewal movement within and for the Roman Catholic Church slipped out of his control. This Church teaches that Lutheranism in general is a form of non-Roman Catholicism. It considers the other Lutheran Churches to be "Protestant" only to the extent that they have accepted insights from the Calvinist and Zwinglian phases of the Reformation.

The Augustana Catholic Church accepts the unaltered Augsburg Confession (in Latin Confessio Augustana), the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, and Martin Luther's Small Catechism insofar as they are trustworthy witnesses to the Gospel and in accord with authentic Catholic Faith and Tradition. Insofar as they are in accord with authentic Catholic Faith and Tradition, the ACC recognizes the remainder of The Book of Concord except the Formula of Concord insofar as they are trustworthy witnesses to the Gospel and in accord with authentic Catholic Faith and Tradition. The ACC does not accept the final document in The Book of Concord, i.e., The Formula of Concord, but recognizes and respects it as a historical Lutheran document. The ACC has accepted major modifications in Sacramental Theology and Principles of Church Government from the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden, the Oxford Movement of the Anglican Communion, and the documents and teachings of the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church which includes the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994).

This Church is unique among Lutheran Churches in that it accepts as additional confessional documents, the "Articles of Religion" from the "Book of Common Prayer" as interpreted by John Henry Cardinal Newman in "Tracts for the Times" (insofar as they do not conflict with authentic Catholic faith and tradition), the Roman Catholic - Lutheran "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" (Augsburg, Germany, 1999); the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the documents and decrees of all Ecumenical Councils recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. The ACC's strongest connections are with the Roman Catholic Church, and some form of visible, corporate unity with that Church is the ecumenical goal of the ACC.

The Augustana Catholic Church accepts Papal Primacy and Papal Infallibility, but is not legally under Papal authority at this time. The Augustana Catholic Church is theologically and socially conservative, with the same view of the nature and authority of Scripture as the Roman Catholic Church.

The polity of the Augustana Catholic Church is episcopal rather than congregationalist, and follows the model of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Augustana Catholic Church has never had female clergy for the same reasons the Roman Catholic Church rejects the ordination of women; and has placed a moratorium on the ordination of women until such time as it is ordered by a Pope (for the diaconate) or an Ecumenical Council (for the priesthood and episcopacy). The ACC has the same policy on the ordination of homosexuals as does the Roman Catholic Church as defined by Pope Benedict XVI. This Church does not permit the blessing of same-sex unions.

The clergy of the Augustana Catholic Church have all been ordained (or re-ordained) in the historic Apostolic Succession, which it obtained from the Ecumenical Catholic Diocese of the Americas and the Apostolic Episcopal Church. The primary Apostolic Lineage of the The Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church is the Duarte Costa lineage of the Rebiban or Vatican Succession. All ordinations are performed using the rites of the most current edition of the Ordinal from The Pontifical of the Roman Catholic Church set within a celebration of the Mass using the Eucharistic rites of the Roman Catholic Church.

The worship of the Augustana Catholic Church is dignified and sacramental. It differs from other Lutheran Churches by recognizing and celebrating seven sacraments (Baptism, Holy Communion, Confirmation, Reconciliation/Penance, Unction, Holy Matrimony/Marriage, and Holy Orders/Ordination). The primary liturgy of the ACC is the Roman Catholic Anglican Use Book of Divine Worship. Any other rites approved and authorized for use by the appropriate Congregation of the Curia of the Roman Catholic Church may also be used by ACC clergy.

The Augustana Catholic Church is a Church in the Lutheran Evangelical Catholic tradition. The ACC was founded as the "Evangelical Community Church - Lutheran (ECCL)" in 1997 by former members of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. Its headquarters is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The ACC is governed by the Metropolitan Archbishop. He is assisted by the Synod of Bishops of the Church which is concerned with matters of doctrine and polity) and a National Standing Committee which includes lay members and is concerned with temporal administration and finance. The ACC operates in accordance with the Canon Law Code of the Roman Catholic Church (1983) in areas not covered by its own Canon Law Code or that of the Augustana Evangelical Catholic Communion (AECC), of which it is a member.